It’s been a smashing season for the Sydney Sixers so far this year! There’s only a few weeks left in the BBL08 season, so we thought we’d take a look over everything that happened in our sixth year as proud Principal Partners of the Sydney Sixers!

iiNet back the Sixers Women’s BBL team

We’re excited to announce that in addition to a long-standing partnership with the Sixers BBL team, this year was the first year iiNet became an Official Partner of the reigning WBBL champions – the Sixers WBBL team!

The TVC gets a new innings

The iiNet TV ad celebrating 25 years of awesome customer service has been hitting your screens with a crickety twist. Can you spot the changes it’s sporting?

Sydney Smash

Each season of the Sydney Smash sees the Sydney Sixers go head to head with the Sydney Thunder. The Sixers WBBL team came out with a 36-run victory against the local rivals while the Sixers BBL team fell 21 runs short in their match.

Sixers WBBL team hits 5 wins in a row!

One highlights of the season took place on the 23rd of December when the Sixers came up against Brisbane Heat. Ellyse Perry led the Sixers to an 11-run win with an incredible 103 runs from just 64 balls – her second century this season from just six innings!

Sixers Biggest Fans stand up!

Throughout the season, as proud Principal Partners of the Sydney Sixers, we ran a number of competitions for the Sixers’ biggest fans out there to get behind their favourite magenta team! We started the season with a ’Season Teaser’ merchandise and ticket giveaway to the Sixers vs Renegades game on the 16th of January at the SCG, followed by the opportunity to do the bat toss at the Sixers vs Stars game on December 27th.

Over the holiday period, we offered the chance for four Sixers’ fans and four of their mates to win a net session with some of the Sixers’ players, and to wrap up the season we gave away five pairs of tickets to the Sixers vs Thunder game on the 2nd of Feb at the SCG.

Finals fever!

Don’t miss the finals! Tune in to the rest of the BBL08 season where the Sixers BBL team is currently placed 2nd on the ladder, and check out the Sixers WBBL team as they head into the final decider for top of the ladder against the Brisbane Heat on Saturday 26th January at 10.10am (AEST).

Sixers’ fans! What was your favourite moment from the season to date? Let us know below

If you’re looking to grow your business, it’s important that you’re organised and set up for a productive year ahead. There are a lot of elements to running a small business, and keeping on top of everything throughout the year means that when it comes to key moments, like tax time, your expenses and transactions are organised and ready to go.

As a small business, your time is one of your most important commodities – so how can you optimise your time? One of the best ways to stay organised and boost your productivity is to maintain an organised work space. We’ve put together 10 ways you can reduce your task list and increase your output such as improving your email workflow, organising your tasks, and automating as many processes as possible.

1. Clean out the clutter

It’s a new year and that means a fresh start. It won’t take you long but it will leave you feeling uber productive and rearing to go! Take the time to clean out and clean up your drawers and work space. Pull everything out and wipe down the space then sort your items as you replace them to clear out some of the items you no longer need. Working in a tidy workspace has been found to reduce the bugs lingering around, leading to less sick days while also reducing the stress levels of the employee. Clutter can also cause distraction and result in wasted time looking for certain documents and items.

2. File away the paper

While there’s less paper around now as business is moving towards digital and cloud-based solutions, we’re bound to have some documents and bits of paper in piles lying around. Grab them, sort them and file them away so they’re out of your way and you can start the year with a nice, clean work space. If you have a lot of notes, you may like to consider using OneNote or Evernote to keep all your thoughts, to-do lists and projects all in one place in the cloud.

3. Empty the emails

Clean out those emails! Only keep the ones you will need again, such as important references. Start by clearing out your inbox so you know where your emails are at and then clean out the files to ensure you only keep what you’ll need in the year ahead.

If you have multiple email accounts and calendar bookings, there are a number of apps that can help you stay on top of your inbox, such as Microsoft Outlook, Spark, and Gmail. These apps will take all your emails and categorise them, bundling different types of emails together so specific emails are easier to find.

4. Make scheduling easy

Stop the back-and-forth emailing to arrange meeting and events. Instead, utilise an app such as Calendly. Simply let Calendly know your availability preferences, share the link with your connections and it’ll do the work for you.

5. Reading up

Do you have websites you like to check for updates and blogs you like to read for industry news? Make things quick and easy by creating one place for all your online sources. Reading lists such as Feedly allow you to scroll through all content in one place, while Pocket is a place for you to store all of those articles you want to read later so you don’t have to save them all somewhere!

6. Set your workspace for productivity

Did you know that your workspace can affect your productivity? Here’s some ways that have been found in studies to keep the work flowing and allow you to get the most out of your space and grow your business.

Take a walk and have breaks to stretch your body. Research shows that taking a 5 minute walk each hour reduces fatigue and food cravings and increases your mood.

Tidy up the cables at your desk so they’re out of the way.

Keep healthy snacks around.

Only keep the essentials at your desk. If you don’t use it every day, pop it away for when you do need it. However, having a couple of reminders of your purpose at your desk is recommended to help you focus and stay on track. Just remember, think minimal.

7. Manage customer support

Customers are integral to any business, so it’s important that you’re communicating with them effectively and managing customer expectations. To stay on top of your customer enquiries, try using a program that develops tickets for each customer such as Groove and Zendesk.

8. Plan your social media in advance

Do you find yourself taking the time to post on social media each day? With small teams and tight budgets, you want to get the most out of your campaign, including saving your valuable time. Don’t stop what you’re doing to publish posts each day, instead plan out your entire campaign and schedule your posts ahead of time. Tools such as Sked Social, Facebooks scheduling capability, and Hootsuite, allow you to load your posts as far in advance as you like. Then all you have to do is a quick check to see if they look great!

9. Managing your expenses and time

Expenses can be a pain to keep track of but putting in the work to keep on top of your finances now will make tax time a whole lot easier. Apps such as the ATO app allow you to take pictures of your expenses and receipts, keeping them all in one place for when tax time rolls around. To keep track of expenses each week, you can also try softwares such as Expensify, Quick books or Xero. These programs automate the expenses process by keeping track of receipts, arranging reimbursements and more.

For freelancers, keeping track of your billable hours is essential to getting paid correctly. Programs such as Toggl can help you easily monitor and record your time allocations throughout each day. Even if you’re not a freelancer, you may even like to give this one a go to see where your resources are being allocated.

10. Implement a phone system

Talking to your customers is at the core of any successful business strategy and one of the best ways to do that is with a phone system such as iiNet BizPhone.

As customer demand increases and your business grows, upgrading operations can bring with it a number of new requirements that can seriously increase your overhead costs. Luckily, BizPhone is Australia’s best value small business phone. Whether you’re looking to split sales and customer service enquiries into separate call queues, acquire additional phone numbers, set up call forwarding to mobiles, arrange customised schedules, or even hire a full-time receptionist who needs switchboard software, BizPhone has the solutions for you.

What’s your biz tip for a fresh start to the year? Share it with us in the comments.

The NBN™ rollout is showing no signs of slowing down in 2019! This year alone, NBN Co estimates they’ll connect more than 2.5 MILLION premises across a range of six different NBN™ technologies. Of this number, more than half are planned to be connected via NBN™ HFC, one of the newer technologies added to the mix. This technology runs over hybrid fibre coaxial cable, similar to that used for cable TV services. Over the course of 2017-2018, NBN Co carried out major improvements to the NBN™ HFC connection process and now the new-and-improved NBN™ HFC is in full swing!

Here’s the full breakdown of the NBN™ planned for 2019:

NBN™ HFC – Over 1.35 million premises

NBN™ FTTC – Over 680 thousand premises

NBN™ FTTN – Over 310 thousand premises

NBN™ FTTB – Over 135 thousand premises

NBN™ Wireless – Over 55 thousand premises

NBN™ FTTP – Over 9 thousand premises

Will your home be connected to NBN™ this year?

The easiest way to check your home’s status in the NBN™ rollout is to check your address on our website. Not only will this let you know which type of NBN™ technology is planned at your address (NBN™ Fibre, NBN™ Wireless or NBN˜ Satellite) but if your address is going to be NBN™-ready soon, you can also pick out your iiNet NBN™ plan and pre-order now so we can get you connected as soon as possible.

Pre-ordering your iiNet NBN™ plan is typically possible once NBN™ is expected to be available at your address within the next three months but in some cases, you may be able to pre-order as early as six months in advance. If you’re already an iiNet customer, you’ll get an email and/or SMS from us letting you know when pre-order is available, so you don’t need to keep checking our website.

If you’re not currently with iiNet, you may want to consider switching to one of our NBN™-ready Naked or ADSL2+ plans. Once NBN™ becomes available in your area, you’ll be able to upgrade it to iiNet NBN™ without incurring any contract break fees (although all of our NBN™-ready plans are available with no lock-in contract options if that’s more to your taste).

Make NBN™ easy by pre-ordering iiNet NBN™

One of the main advantages of pre-ordering your NBN™ plan with iiNet is convenience. We understand that the NBN™ rollout can be confusing and your circumstances may change over time, so we’ve made the process easy and hassle-free. Simply place your order and leave the rest to us!

Upgrade to the NBN™ as soon as it’s available

Change your pre-order at any time

Pay nothing until your NBN™ order is processed

24/7 tech support if you need a hand

That means that if you move out, get a housemate or change your internet habits in any other way that would affect the kind of plan you need, no worries! You can change your NBN™ plan at any time, whether you signed up for a 24-month contract or a no lock-in contract. Even after your NBN™ plan is connected, you’ll still have the ability to switch to any plan within our current range of iiNet NBN™ plans, so it’s totally flexible for your needs.

The benefit of iiNet’s awesome customer service

Another major benefit of choosing iiNet for NBN™ is our top-notch customer service team, of course! Choice, a leading consumer advocacy group, recently named us Australia’s Best NBN™ Provider for Speed and Customer Satisfaction, which is a pretty big deal. At iiNet, we’ve been connecting Aussies to great-value broadband and phone services for over 25 years and we’ve been selling NBN™ since the early days. We’re an experienced provider with a main focus on delivering awesome customer service so needless to say, you’ll be in good hands with us on the NBN™.

If you’d like to find out more about iiNet NBN™, give our friendly Sales Team a call on 13 19 17 and we’ll be happy to help.

Taking cues from Marie Kondo – the organising guru that has become a household name thanks to her Netflix show, Tidying Up with Marie Kondo, people around the globe are starting the New Year by practising their folding techniques, sorting through their items using the KonMari method and asking themselves “does this spark joy?”

There’s nothing better than a fresh and clutter-free start to the New Year. We’re super inspired by Marie Kondo and with 2019 upon us, we’ve put together a list of items for you to clear out and things to do around the home and your work space for a productive year ahead.

The Kitchen

1. Clean out the fridge and check all use-by dates, then wipe down the surfaces with warm water and lemon.

2. Empty each cupboard, sort out its contents and wipe down the cupboards. If you find anything you don’t use, remove it and donate or sell it. While you’re here, check to make sure all your plastic containers have lids!

3. We all accumulate mismatched kitchenware and mugs throughout the years. Clear out the cabinets and work out which mugs you use and which ones you have forgotten about or are the only ones left standing from their set.

4. Replace the tea towels and dishcloths that have seen better days.

5. Deep clean the dishwasher with a mixture of bicarb soda and lemon or vinegar. Note: you can use your preferred cleaning method, however I like to use natural cleaning solutions and have listed these options.

6. Sort through the pantry for expired or untouched items. How many items have you accumulated over the last year that you’ve forgotten about? Have a look and sort through these items and use them to reduce your next grocery shop.

The Bathroom

1. Makeup brushes build up with product and become laced with bacteria, dust and dirt, so keep on top of them with regular cleaning. Give them a thorough clean with hot, soapy water and leave them out to dry.

2. If you can’t remember the last time you changed your toothbrush, swap these over. You should swap these every three to four months, or earlier if your toothbrush becomes frayed and worn to ensure sparking pearly whites.

3. Replace any old and worn-out towels with new ones. Towels may be needed at animal shelters so contact your local one to see if you can donate them, otherwise use them in the garage as rags.

4. Clean out the cupboards, get rid of any items if you can’t remember the last time you used them and wipe down the surfaces. Check the expiry dates on your products and replace any makeup or personal care items that have been hanging around for too long.

The Laundry

1. Remove the clutter by sorting linens, towels and cleaning supplies into baskets or containers to optimise the space.

2. Clean out the dryer’s vent and ducts to remove lint build-up.

3. Deep clean the washing machine and clean out the filters – can you recall the last time you did this?

The Bedroom

1. Flip your mattress entirely or by turning it around so you can balance out your body’s imprint.

2. Wash your linen and bedspread ready for the year ahead.

3. Clean out your wardrobe – can you even remember everything in there? Pull everything out of your wardrobe and sort through each item. If you haven’t worn a garment in the last year, why not donate or sell it?

4. Take a look at your accessories including bags, jewellery, belts and hats and sort through each item. If they’ve gone untouched for a long, long time, then it’s time to part ways.

5. Replace your pillows and mark them with the date so you know how long you’ve had them.

Pillows absorb the skin, hair, and body oil that your body sheds each night – not a pleasant thought, right?! Over time, this can attract dust mites and old pillows can develop permanent stains and become lumpy. This can impact your health and your comfort while sleeping, so you should replace polyester pillows every six months, however memory foam pillows will last you between 18 to 36 months. If you have some to replace, check to see if any animal shelters will accept donated pillows for the animals’ beds.

Your Workstation

1. For a clutter-free desk, start by emptying your drawers, sorting through the paper that tends to pile up throughout the year, remove any unused stationery you’re holding on to and empty that in-tray.

2. Sort through that paperwork that’s piled up on your desk and if it’s not relevant, remove it. If you need it, file it.

3. Clean out your keyboard and wipe down your monitors.

4. Clean out your emails and file everything away.

5. Back up your computer and phone, clear out files you’re not using on your computer and remove any icons or programs that you haven’t used in the last year.

Other

1. Clean out your bag. Get down to the depths of your handbag or back pack and clean it out for the New Year.

2. If you haven’t already, get your 2019 calendar ready and filled out for the year ahead.

3. Do you have a cupboard full of candles? Sort through any jars you’re saving or any half used candles and use them up or get rid of them. If you have some jars you want to upcycle, you can melt down the remaining wax and clean the jars out.

4. Remove all unidentified and expired medicine from your medicine cabinet or box. Check the dates and if it’s expired or you don’t need it, say goodbye. You can easily and safely dispose of these at you local Pharmacy so pack them up and pay them a visit.

Do you have any must do clear outs to start the year off with? Share them with us in the comments.

4. The Competition commences at 00:01 AM AEST on Friday 18th January 2019 and closes at 11:59 PM AEST on Wednesday 23rd January 2019 (“Competition Period”).

5. Entries must be received by us within the Competition Period.

Conditions of Entry

6. Entry is open to Australian residents in NSW aged 18 years or over at the date of entry. Employees (and their immediate family) of iiNet Limited, Sydney Sixers and the TPG Telecom Group are ineligible to enter.

7. To enter the Competition you must submit an Entry by:

a) Completing this sentence: The Sixers may have changed since 2011 but my focus on them hasn’t because. . . , and

11. You warrant that each Entry is an original work created solely by you, that the Entry does not infringe on the copyrights, trademarks, moral rights, rights of privacy/publicity or intellectual property rights of any person or entity and that no other party has any right, title, claim, or interest in the Entry.

12. We reserve the right to check the validity of all Entries and to disqualify you if we reasonably believe that your entry does not comply with these Terms and Conditions or the Entry process has been tampered with.

13. Entries that are considered, in our absolute discretion, to be incomplete, incomprehensible, unlawful, defamatory, abusive, obscene, sexist, racist or otherwise inappropriate will be deemed invalid and rejected. We reserve the right to provide law enforcement bodies with the objectionable Entry and the entrant’s personal information.

How to Win

14. The Competition is a game of skill. Chance pays no part in determining the winner[s]. Each Entry will be judged according to its originality and creativity.

15. The five (5) Entries (“Winners”) determined by us to be the most original and creative from the Entries received during the Competition Period will each win a Prize which is two (2) General Admission ticket to the Saturday 2nd February 2019 Sixers versus Sydney Thunder game at the Sydney Cricket Ground valued at approximately $40 incl GST total ($20 per person)

16. The Winner will be determined at Level 1, 502 Hay Street Subiaco WA 6008 on the 24th January 2019 at 2pm AEST.

17. The Winners will be notified on 25th January 2019. Each Winner must claim their prize by 5pm AEST 1 February 2019 or they will forfeit the prize and will no longer be the Winner. The Entry judged by us to be the next best Entry will become the winner (“Replacement Winner”). If the Replacement Winner does not claim their prize within 2 business days of our notification, that Replacement Winner will forfeit the Prize.

18. If the Prize is forfeited by a winner (for whatever reason), we may conduct further judging until a Replacement Winner is successfully contacted by us and awarded the Prize.

19. Our decision on all aspects of this Competition is final and no discussion or review will be entered into.

The Prize

20. There are a total of five (5) Prizes. The total prize pool is valued at approximately $200 incl GST.

21. The Prize does not include any other costs or expenses such as accommodation or transport to and from the matches. The Winners must make their own arrangements to attend the matches.

22. The Prize is awarded “as is” and is not transferable or exchangeable for cash. Any unused or unclaimed portion of the Prize will be forfeited. If any element of the Prize becomes unavailable, we reserve the right to substitute that element with another prize of equal or similar value.

23. We may require that a Winner provide acceptable identification before awarding the prize.

24. We are not responsible for any failure or inability on the part of any Winner to redeem the prize.

Personal Information and Intellectual Property

25. By entering this competition you agree to us collecting, using and/or disclosing your personal information for the purposes of the competition. We will handle your personal information in accordance with our privacy statement which is available at http:www.iinet.net.au/about/legal/competitionprivacy.html.

26. You agree to us publishing your name and entry (and, if requested, a photograph of you), free of charge, in any media (including social media) for the purpose of promoting this competition and/or our products.

27. We recognise that you retain ownership of the copyright in each of your entries. You grant us a perpetual, non-exclusive, irrevocable licence to use the entry in all media throughout the world for marketing and promotional purposes in connection with the competition.

Right to amend

28. We reserve the right to suspend, cancel or modify the competition if necessary, due to circumstances beyond our reasonable control. We will take reasonable steps to notify you of any such change.

Release

29. Nothing in these Terms and Conditions limits, excludes or modifies the consumer guarantees provided under the Competition and Consumer Act (2010) or any other statutory rights that you have that cannot lawfully be excluded.

30. To the extent permitted by law, we exclude and you irrevocably release us and our employees and contractors from, all liability for any loss or injury suffered by you in connection with your participation in the Competition or any of your activities in connection with any prize that you win as a result of your participation in the Competition, except where such loss or injury is caused by our gross negligence.

31. We are not responsible for any incorrect or inaccurate information, either caused by promotional website users or by any of the equipment or programming associated with or use in this Competition, or by any technical error that may occur in the course of the administration of this Competition. We are not responsible for any error, omission, interruption, deletion, defect, delay in operation or transmission, communications line failure, theft or destruction or unauthorised access to or alteration of Entries.

Governing Jurisdiction

32. These Terms and Conditions are governed by the laws of New South Wales.

Whether you’d describe yourself as an artist, a crafter, a decorator, a hobbyist or just someone having a bit of fun; we’ve all got one thing in common. When it comes to getting creative, sometimes we can find ourselves stuck for inspiration. It’s hard to pinpoint exactly what can gum up the works; you may not know which materials you need, which colours to use, or maybe you’re not sure about the finer details of the idea you want to execute.

Creative blocks can happen to anyone and are pretty common, so don’t beat yourself up if you find yourself stuck. We’re lucky to live in an age where we have unprecedented wealth of ideas and visual information shared online, not to mention there’s also a bunch of handy creative tools on the ‘net. We’ve found some of the best of them to help you get inspired, brush up on your skills and work through any pesky blocks you may have. Even if you’re not working on a project right now, have a look through and see what’s out there – you never know, it may help you down the track!

Pigment by ShapeFactory

Colour plays a huge part in all kinds of creative projects and Pigment by ShapeFactory is the place for you! With an ultra-simple website interface, they’ve got dozens and dozens of simple colour schemes to browse – you can even change the pigment and lighting as desired. Hover your mouse over any colour scheme and you’ll also see a range of tints and shades.

Coolors

Staying in the realm of colour, Coolors is also home to hundreds of different colour palettes submitted by users from around the world. These five-colour palettes are a little more complex than the ones you’d find on Pigment so you may find it useful for more detailed projects. If you sign up for a free account, you can even save your faves for future reference!

Flame Painter

Sometimes you just need to doodle aimlessly until an idea comes to you. Next time you feel the urge to play around with shapes and lines, have a go on Flame Painter. This art tool produces glowing, translucent lines with a lively sense of movement, just like fire!

FontStruct

If you’re more of a builder than an illustrator, why not have a go at making your own font? FonStruct is a tool that gives you the bits and pieces you need to design your own font, letter by letter. It’s an unusual project that could help shake things up and get you thinking differently and best of all, you can download and use your font once you’re done! It’s also a cost-effective option if you’re starting out a new business and want to design your own logo and documents.

Online Classes by Skillshare

Every now and then, you may find yourself discouraged if you’re having trouble getting your project to fit the vision you have in your head. More often than not, it comes down to practice, patience, and technical skill. While practice is pretty straightforward, learning new skills can be more complicated. Fortunately, Skillshare offer a number of online classes for Design, Film, Photography and more. You can get started with a selection of free classes and if you find yourself really get into it, you can consider getting a premium subscription for unlimited access to over 25,000 classes provided by experts.

Pinterest

Depending on your interests, you may already know about Pinterest. Over the years, the website has become a titanic source of art, crafts, fashion, interior design, food, party themes – you name it! The main focus on content is visual imagery so it can be a great way to find your creative spark, plus you can tailor your feed to your specific interests and save your fave finds. You’ll need to make an account in order to browse, but if you have a Facebook or Google account, you can link it to Pinterest and you’ll be scrolling for inspiration in no time!

The modern smartphone is an incredibly useful tool and according to Deloitte, a whopping 89% of Aussies own a smartphone. With most of us using our phones every day, we’re certainly no strangers to mobile apps and the notifications that come with them.

At times, these notifications can be very useful – who among us hasn’t saved face at the last minute thanks to a handy birthday reminder for an acquaintance on Facebook? Other times, not so much. No one really needs a banner on the home screen of their phone to remind them to play more Candy Crush, or that so-and-so or such-and-such has posted on social media.

The hard truth is that most mobile apps on the market today are padding out their notifications with unnecessary information. It’s so prevalent that even satire news website, The Onion, is joking about it. These little pop-ups and badges just aren’t telling us anything important or useful; all they’re doing is trying to get your attention so you open the app again. That’s why it’s a good New Years’ resolution to nip these useless notifications in the bud so you can stay focused on the stuff that matters.

We’ve put together some handy advice on how to trim down your mobile notifications and keep the useful stuff and get rid of the junk!

How to decide which notifications get the chop

Everyone uses their smartphone differently and we all have different priorities. However, there is a general approach you can use to determine whether or not you should let an app send you any notifications at all, and which types of notifications you should block and allow.

Do you use the app regularly? – If not, chances are that you wouldn’t even notice if you disabled notifications entirely. Unless the app is designed to alert you to security matters, emergencies, usage warnings or other urgent issues, it’s probably safe to flick the ‘off’ switch.

Do you care about what you’re being reminded about? – You’re probably already getting a bunch of notifications on your phone, so it’s up to you to go through and decide which ones are handy and which ones are duds. If you’re seeing a lot of useless notifications from any app in particular, it’s definitely time to investigate if you can change the type of notifications you’re getting.

Does the delivery method match the importance? – Apart from the content of notifications themselves, there’s also the delivery method to consider. Virtually every smartphone has three main kinds of notifications: push notifications that appear on your phone’s lock screen and/or Notifications Centre, badges that appear as red dots at the corner of an app tile, and pop-up banners that will show up as soon as a notification is sent. You may wish to disable the disruptive pop-up banners for everything except your most important notifications. Similarly, app badges don’t offer any clear information about the nature of a notification, so you could try disabling them entirely so you’re not wasting time opening apps for no good reason.

How to nix unwanted mobile notifications

Once you’ve got an idea of how you want your notifications set up, it’s time to whip out your smartphone and start adjusting your notification settings. Here’s some basic guides for accessing these settings on iPhones and Android phones below. If your phone uses a different operating system, please check the manufacturer’s website for support information about changing these settings.

iPhone

Open the Settings app and select Notifications.

You’ll see a list of every app installed on your phone. From here, you can jump in and start adjusting the notification style for each app. Any changes you make will save automatically.

By default, you’ll see the following switches in the notifications settings for every app:- Allow Notifications, which you can use to allow or stop notifications for that app altogether.

– Sounds, which you can use to assign a particular ringtone to notifications for that app, or make them silent.

– Badge App icon, which you can use to allow or stop the red dot ‘badges’ appearing at the corner of the app’s tile on your iPhone’s home screen.

– Show on Lock Screen, which you can use to allow or stop notifications showing up on your iPhone’s screen while the handset is locked.

– Show in History, which you can use to allow or stop notifications from showing up in your notifications history record, which you can view by swiping down from the top of your iPhone’s screen.

– Show as Banners, which you can use to allow or stop notifications showing up at the top of your phone’s screen. Beneath this option, you can also choose if banners only show up briefly (Temporary) or if they should remain until you manually dismiss them (Persistent).

If the app allows you to customise your notifications, you’ll see further options listed below these default settings. In the example below, you can see the default Games app allows you to choose if you want alerts from everyone, or only your contacts.

Keep in mind that some apps may not give you many options for customising your notifications. If this is the case, head to the next section of this article for some advice on what to do.

Android phones

Open the Settings app.

Run a search for “notifications”. From the results, select Notifications management.

You’ll see a list of every app installed on your phone. From here, you can jump in and start adjusting the notification settings for each app. Any changes you make will save automatically.

By default, you’ll see an Allow notifications switch for every app. You can use this to allow or stop notifications for that app altogether.After that, you’ll see a list of the different types of notifications the app allows you to change the settings for. These options vary among different apps. In the example below, you can see the AusPost app allows you to change notification settings for different stages of parcel delivery.

By default, you’ll see the following options for each type of notification:- Display in the status bar, which you can use to allow or stop a badge icon for the app appear at the top of your phone screen whenever you have an unread notification.

– Banners, which you can use to allow or stop notifications showing up at the top of your phone’s screen.

– Lock screen notifications, which you can use to allow or stop notifications showing up on your phone’s screen while the handset is locked.

– Priority display, which you can turn on to make sure that notifications for this app are shown before all other notifications

– Ringtone, which you can use to assign a particular ringtone to notifications for that app, or make them silent.

– Vibrate, which you can use to allow or stop your phone from vibrating when a notification is received.

– Badges, which you can use to allow or stop the red dot ‘badges’ appearing at the corner of the app’s tile on your iPhone’s home screen.

Keep in mind that some apps may not give you many options for customising your notifications. If this is the case, read on for some advice on what to do.

What to do if the app settings aren’t good enough

Unfortunately, not every app may let you opt-out of the different types of notifications they may be serving up. Some apps may expect you to tolerate the spam in order to also receive useful notifications such as alerts for new messages.

Hit the off switch – An app can’t spam you if it doesn’t have permission to send any notifications. Try turning them off and see how you go. You could spend the day with less distractions and then get into the habit of checking an app manually at certain times of the day, such as during a daily commute or just after lunch.

Give feedback – You should be able to provide feedback directly to the company behind the app (or its developers) by leaving a review on iTunes or the Google Play Store. When leaving a comment, avoid being vague or using any inappropriate language – it’s not constructive and it just discredits you. Be sure to clearly explain what you found annoying and what you’d like to be able to do, e.g. “I want to disable notifications about X without stopping my notifications about Y”. Any good developer should be taking notes about what their users wants from the app. If enough people say they want a feature, you could see it in a future update!

Find a better alternative – If you really can’t stand the spam, do a little research to see if there’s a different app that does the same thing but allows you to customise your notifications settings in the way you want. You won’t know if another app is better unless you give it a try.

Here’s to a more focused and less interrupted 2019!

How do you stay on top of your notifications and prioritise your alerts? Share your tips in the comments.

Calling Sixers’ fans – have you ever dreamed of a net session with some of the Sydney Sixers players? Your dream can now become a reality!

We’re giving 4 Sixers’ fans the opportunity to WIN a once in a lifetime cricket experience where you’ll join in a net session with 4 of your best mates at the SCG alongside some of the Sixers stars from the BBL08 season.

To enter:

1. Upload photo(s) that shows the 4 stages of your evolution as a Sixers’ fan (4 stages = one Entry), and

2. Write a caption that includes the hashtag #iiSupportSixers, telling us how you’ve evolved as a Sixers fan over the years.

4. The Competition commences at 00:01 AM AEST on Thursday 20th December 2018 and closes at 11:59 PM AEST on Wednesday 9th January 2019 (“Competition Period”).

5. Entries must be received by us within the Competition Period.

Conditions of Entry

6. Entry is open to Australian residents in NSW aged 18 years or over at the date of entry. Employees (and their immediate family) of iiNet Limited, Sydney Sixers and the TPG Telecom Group are ineligible to enter.

7. To enter the Competition you must:

a. Comment on one of our official competition posts and show the 4 stages of your evolution as a Sixers’ fan using one or more photos (all 4 stages must be shown to constitute one valid Entry)

b. Upload the photo(s) onto the post on iiNet’s Facebook, Instagram or Twitter account together with the hashtag #iiSupportSixers and a caption telling us how you have evolved as a Sixers’ fan over the years (Entry”).

8. You can enter as many times as you like during the Competition Period, just make sure your Facebook or Twitter account settings are public so we can see your post.

11. You warrant that each Entry is an original work created solely by you, that the Entry does not infringe on the copyrights, trademarks, moral rights, rights of privacy/publicity or intellectual property rights of any person or entity and that no other party has any right, title, claim, or interest in the Entry.

12. We reserve the right to check the validity of all Entries and to disqualify you if we reasonably believe that your entry does not comply with these Terms and Conditions or the Entry process has been tampered with.

13. Entries that are considered, in our absolute discretion, to be incomplete, incomprehensible, unlawful, defamatory, abusive, obscene, sexist, racist or otherwise inappropriate will be deemed invalid and rejected. We reserve the right to provide law enforcement bodies with the objectionable Entry and the entrant’s personal information.

How to Win

14. The Competition is a game of skill. Chance pays no part in determining the winner[s]. Each Entry will be judged according to its originality and creativity.

15. The four (4) Entries determined by us to be the most original and creative Entry from the Entries received during the Competition Period (“Winners”) will win a group Nets session on Friday 25th January 2019 with selected Sydney Sixers Players for each Entrant and their four (4) friends valued at approximately $1000 incl GST total ($200 per person).

16. The Winners will be determined at Level 1, 502 Hay Street Subiaco WA 6008 on the 11th January 2019 at 2pm AEST.

17. The Winners will be notified on 14th January 2019. The Winners must claim their prize by 5pm AEST 18 January 2019 or they will forfeit the Prize and will no longer be the Winner. The Entry judged by us to be the next best Entry will become the winner (“Replacement Winner”). If the Replacement Winner does not claim their prize within two (2) business days of our notification, that Replacement Winner will forfeit the Prize.

18. If the Prize is forfeited by a winner (for whatever reason), we may conduct further judging until a Replacement Winner is successfully contacted by us and awarded the Prize.

19. Our decision on all aspects of this Competition is final and no discussion or review will be entered into.

The Prize

20. Four (4) winners will each win a session for five (5) people to attend the Sydney Cricket Ground for an indoor net session with team members from the Sydney Sixers at a date and time specified by iiNet. The total prize pool is valued at approximately $4000 incl GST.

21. The Prize does not include any other costs or expenses such as accommodation or transport to and from the venue. The Winner must make their own arrangements to attend the matches.

22. The Prize is awarded “as is” and is not transferable or exchangeable for cash. Any unused or unclaimed portion of the Prize will be forfeited. If any element of the Prize becomes unavailable, we reserve the right to substitute that element with another prize of equal or similar value.

23. We may require that a Winner provide acceptable identification before awarding the prize.

24. We are not responsible for any failure or inability on the part of any Winner to redeem the prize.

25. Entrants must be over 18 years of age however winners may bring attendees under the age of 18 years of age to the net session.

Personal Information and Intellectual Property

26. By entering this competition you agree to us collecting, using and/or disclosing your personal information for the purposes of the competition. We will handle your personal information in accordance with our privacy statement which is available at http:www.iinet.net.au/about/legal/competitionprivacy.html.

27. You agree to us publishing your name and entry (and, if requested, a photograph of you), free of charge, in any media (including social media) for the purpose of promoting this competition and/or our products.

28. We recognise that you retain ownership of the copyright in each of your entries. You grant us a perpetual, non-exclusive, irrevocable licence to use the entry in all media throughout the world for marketing and promotional purposes in connection with the competition.

Right to amend

29. We reserve the right to suspend, cancel or modify the competition if necessary, due to circumstances beyond our reasonable control. We will take reasonable steps to notify you of any such change.

Release

30. Nothing in these Terms and Conditions limits, excludes or modifies the consumer guarantees provided under the Competition and Consumer Act (2010) or any other statutory rights that you have that cannot lawfully be excluded.

31. To the extent permitted by law, we exclude and you irrevocably release us and our employees and contractors from, all liability for any loss or injury suffered by you in connection with your participation in the Competition or any of your activities in connection with any prize that you win as a result of your participation in the Competition, except where such loss or injury is caused by our gross negligence.

32. We are not responsible for any incorrect or inaccurate information, either caused by promotional website users or by any of the equipment or programming associated with or use in this Competition, or by any technical error that may occur in the course of the administration of this Competition. We are not responsible for any error, omission, interruption, deletion, defect, delay in operation or transmission, communications line failure, theft or destruction or unauthorised access to or alteration of Entries.

Governing Jurisdiction

33. These Terms and Conditions are governed by the laws of New South Wales.

NSW residents – we’ve got two Sixers BBL prize packs up for grabs for the Sixers vs Melbourne Stars game on 27th Dec at the SCG!

First prize includes the opportunity to do the Coin Toss before the match, your very own Sixers BBL08 shirt AND 2 x Tickets to the game. The winner of the second prize will receive a Sixers BBL08 shirt and 2 x Tickets to the game.

To enter, upload a photo you supporting the Sixers and using the hashtag #iiSupportSixers and tell us why you should do the Coin Toss before the match.

4. The Competition commences at 00:01 AM AEDT on Wednesday 5th December 2018 and closes at 11:59 PM AEDT on Tuesday 11th December 2018 (“Competition Period”).

5. Entries must be received by us within the Competition Period.

Conditions of Entry

6. Entry is open to Australian residents in New South Wales aged 12 years or over at the date of entry. If you are under 18 years old, you need to obtain consent from your parent or guardian to enter and to provide your personal information to us. Employees (and their immediate family) of iiNet Limited, Sydney Sixers and the TPG Telecom Group are ineligible to enter.

7. Employees (and their immediate family) of iiNet Limited, Sydney Sixers and the TPG Telecom Group are ineligible to enter.

8. To enter the Competition you must:

Upload a photo of you supporting the Sixers onto the post on iiNet’s Facebook, Instagram or Twitter account together with the hashtag # iiSupportSixers and a caption telling us why you should do the Coin Toss.(“Entry”).

9. You can enter as many times as you like during the Competition Period, just make sure your Facebook account settings are public so we can see your post.

12. You warrant that each Entry is an original work created solely by you, that the Entry does not infringe on the copyrights, trademarks, moral rights, rights of privacy/publicity or intellectual property rights of any person or entity and that no other party has any right, title, claim, or interest in the Entry.

13. We reserve the right to check the validity of all Entries and to disqualify you if we reasonably believe that your entry does not comply with these Terms and Conditions or the Entry process has been tampered with.

14. Entries that are considered, in our absolute discretion, to be incomplete, incomprehensible, unlawful, defamatory, abusive, obscene, sexist, racist or otherwise inappropriate will be deemed invalid and rejected. We reserve the right to provide law enforcement bodies with the objectionable Entry and the entrant’s personal information.

How to Win

15. The Competition is a game of skill. Chance plays no part in determining the winner[s]. Each Entry will be judged according to its originality and creativity.

16. The ‘Entry’ determined by us to be the most original and creative from the Entries received during the Competition Period (“Winner”) will win a Prize as detailed below.

17. The Winners will be determined at Level 1, 502 Hay Street Subiaco WA 6004 on Thursday 13th December 2018 at 2pm AEDT.

18. The Winners will be notified on Thursday 13th The winner must claim their Prize by 5pm AEDT on Thursday 20th December 2018 or they will forfeit the Prize and will no longer be the Winner. The Entry judged by us to be the next best Entry will become the winner (“Replacement Winner”). If the Replacement Winner does not claim their prize within 2 business days of our notification, that Replacement Winner will forfeit the Prize.

19. If the Prize is forfeited by a Winner or Replacement Winner (for whatever reason), we may conduct further judging until a Replacement Winner is successfully contacted by us and awarded the Prize.

20. Our decision on all aspects of this Competition is final and no discussion or review will be entered into.

The Prize

21. Two (2) winners will each win a Prize, which consists of:

First Prize: the opportunity to do the coin toss at the start of the game as well as two (2) General Admission tickets to attend the Sixers versus Melbourne Stars game on the 27th December 2018 at the Sydney Cricket Ground as well as one (1) Sydney Sixers 2018/19 Men’s or Women’s on-field replica shirt. First Prize is valued at approximately $1050 incl GST.

Second Prize: two (2) General Admission tickets to attend the Sixers versus Melbourne Stars game on the 27th December 2018 at the Sydney Cricket Ground as well as one (1) Sydney Sixers 2018/19 Men’s or Women’s on-field replica shirt. Second Prize is valued at approximately $150 incl GST.

22. The Prize does not include any other costs or expenses such as accommodation or transport to and from the Sydney Cricket Ground. The Winner must make their own arrangements to attend the matches.

23. The Prize is awarded “as is” and is not transferable or exchangeable for cash. Any unused or unclaimed portion of the Prize will be forfeited. If any element of the Prize becomes unavailable, we reserve the right to substitute that element with another prize of equal or similar value.

24. We may require that a Winner provide acceptable identification before awarding the prize.

25. We are not responsible for any failure or inability on the part of any Winner to redeem the prize.

Personal Information and Intellectual Property

26. By entering this competition you agree to us collecting, using and/or disclosing your personal information for the purposes of the competition. We will handle your personal information in accordance with our privacy statement which is available at http:www.iinet.net.au/about/legal/competitionprivacy.html

27. You agree to us publishing your name and entry (and, if requested, a photograph of you), free of charge, in any media (including social media) for the purpose of promoting this competition and/or our products.

28. We recognise that you retain ownership of the copyright in each of your entries. You grant us a perpetual, non-exclusive, irrevocable licence to use the entry in all media throughout the world for marketing and promotional purposes in connection with the competition.

Right to amend

29. We reserve the right to suspend, cancel or modify the competition if necessary, due to circumstances beyond our reasonable control. We will take reasonable steps to notify you of any such change.

Release

30. Nothing in these Terms and Conditions limits, excludes or modifies the consumer guarantees provided under the Competition and Consumer Act (2010) or any other statutory rights that you have that cannot lawfully be excluded.

31. To the extent permitted by law, we exclude and you irrevocably release us and our employees and contractors from, all liability for any loss or injury suffered by you in connection with your participation in the Competition or any of your activities in connection with any prize that you win as a result of your participation in the Competition, except where such loss or injury is caused by our gross negligence.

32. We are not responsible for any incorrect or inaccurate information, either caused by promotional website users or by any of the equipment or programming associated with or use in this Competition, or by any technical error that may occur in the course of the administration of this Competition. We are not responsible for any error, omission, interruption, deletion, defect, delay in operation or transmission, communications line failure, theft or destruction or unauthorised access to or alteration of Entries.

Governing Jurisdiction

33. These Terms and Conditions are governed by the laws of New South Wales.

2018 has been a big year and we still can’t believe that it’s almost over already!

With the festive season just around the corner, we’ve put together a recap of the highlights from throughout the year. We hope you’ll join us for a trip down memory lane as we look back through some of our best achievements and important milestones from 2018!

iiNet Turned 25!

On the 23rd of October, it was iiNets 25th birthday! While we’re not far behind at the ripe old age of 24 years old, it’s pretty amazing to see how far our parent company has come since its start-up days in a Perth garage back in 1993. Since then, they’ve continued to grow and proudly connect Australians to the ‘net for the past quarter of a century. You can check out the message from Finn below, or see more of the group’s achievements over the years here.

The best NBN™ provider in Australia

A leading consumer advocacy group recently compared NBN™ performance with other providers over a six month period and our parent company iiNet came out on top between January and June! iiNet recorded the highest overall ranking of 78% with the best satisfaction rating from their customers, and the best speed scores. You can see the high scores they received in performance and customer satisfaction for yourself in the recent nationwide survey here. This was made possible thanks to the iiNet Group team’s continued hard work, passion and dedication in providing awesome customer service 24/7 as they work to connect Aussies to the NBN™.

ULTRA Broadband FTTB is unveiled

Our exclusive high speed network, Ultra FTTB Broadband, arrived this year. The iiNet Group’s ULTRA Broadband delivers reliable, ultrafast broadband at an affordable price. With an included phone line and unlimited data on every plan, you won’t find a plan that offers better value for money! The ULTRA umbrella includes FTTB, Cable (for residents in Geelong, Mildura and Ballarat) and VDSL2 (exclusive to Canberra residents) connections. It’s internet, only better.

New BizPhone Campaign

For the very first time, the iiNet Group have launched an iiNet BizPhone ad on TV! BizPhone is made for small businesses, so in this ad we pay tribute to the things that just belong together, like popcorn and movies. Check out the very first iiNet BizPhone TV ad now.

Wow! Time flies when you’re having fun. It’s been a busy and action-packed year but we’re looking forward to what 2019 has to bring.